The story goes as follows: Jack is a septic repair man who is hired by the mysterious Prosser to fix the cities pipes, as the water has become so toxic that an evacuation has been called for. Jacks wife, Lindsey, leaves but Jack stays behind to make money for her and their unborn baby. As hes researching the pipes, he becomes trapped in a room full of toxic sewage and dead bodies.
We soon discover that a chainsaw-toting psychopath named Lord Auch and his bumbling massive brother Giant are killing people and disposing of their bodies in the plant. Jack slowly changes into a hideous sewer monster while looking for a way out.
In case you cant tell, get ready for a ton of gross-out moments factoring into this flick. From the moment it starts, the viewer is thrown headfirst into lots of dark grimy mess. Fecal matter, blood, guts and filth abound in this movie so if you have a weak stomach, you definitely need to stay far away from it. Many times youll find yourself covering your eyes or cringing in horror as Jack rips open sewer rats to eat or chokes back his own toxic bile.
The acting in the movie is killer, Jason David Brown plays the protagonist Jack, and he hits it out of the park. Throughout the movie we see the slow downward spiral of a man who loses everything while fighting for his way out. He gradually descends farther and farther into madness, his spirit becoming as corrupted as his form. By the time he could potentially save himself, he no longer wants to be saved. The supporting cast is far from lackluster, with the always creepy Julian Richings playing Prosser and Tim Burd selling the role of the snarling, teeth gnashing Lord Auch.
Its one hell of a slow burn which may be its biggest downfall. Although it is extremely well made and has a couple of spurts of action, for the most part this movie is about watching a human become a monster, day by day. The biggest problem is that the build up is so long and so intense that when the climax comes it seems like a bit of a let down. While we see Jack become the titular Septic Man piece by piece, and he does look pretty gnarly when all is said and done, the actual monster doesnt do much that a man couldnt have done.
Tony Burgess (Pontypool) seems like he may have had more in mind when writing it, especially if you watch the post credits, but this is more of an origin story than anything. And a long one at that.
Jesse Thomas Cook definitely steps his game up from his prior effort, the laughably lovable Monster Brawl, and comes a long way as far as direction goes. This is a dark movie with some subtle black humor and even a few creepy Pet Sematary-esque dream sequences but ultimately it feels like the payoff is too weak considering the build up. While the cast and crew do a stellar job with what they have, it would have been nice to see a little more climax and a little more of the Septic Man.
Septic Man hits VOD August 12, 2015, select theaters on August 15th and DVD on August 19th.
